Meet the Speakers of the 2020 Fit for the Future Convention

 Etienne Stott

Etienne won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics in the sport of canoe slalom, with his crew-mate Tim Baillie. Their historic victory at a home Olympics helped Team GB to an unprecedented 3rd in the medal table and ignited the British public's enthusiasm. An elite athlete for 20 years, he is now retired and exploring life after sport, focusing particularly on the climate and ecological emergencies we face today, which he believes pose a huge threat to civilisation. He will kick-start the Convention with a fascinating talk designed to encourage us all to see protecting the environment as a human issue and one everyone has a role in.

 Michael M Saunders

Michael is a passionate, engaging and customer-centric C-suite executive with years of experience in propelling start-ups and established organisations to the next stage of their evolution. He speaks based on his vast experience and exposure to different work cultures and challenges that he has encountered. Michael’s session will get you thinking about the role you play in growing and shaping the success of your organisation. He will challenge you to consider how you plan with sustainability in mind. Michael will encourage you to view sustainability as a sector-wide initiative we can work together on, starting with your actions on the day. 

 Hattie Park

Hattie is the Sustainability Manager for The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which stages The Wimbledon Championships.?There she is responsible for developing and supporting the environmental sustainability agenda for the organisation across climate impacts, resource use and biodiversity. She joined the AELTC in February 2019 following nine years as Sustainability Manager for the BBC. Hattie holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London. Hattie will share the AELTC’s approach to protecting the environment for 50 weeks of the year as a club and how this is magnified during the Wimbledon Championships.

 Kevin Hylton

Kevin is Emeritus Professor of Equality and Diversity in Sport and Education and was formerly Head of the Research Centre for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Leeds Beckett University. He is the first Black Professor in Carnegie history. Kevin’s research is world leading in regard to race research in sport and education. Kevin has been involved in sport development since Action Sport in the late 1980s and continues to work with grassroots to national governing body organisations. His talk will focus on tackling inactivity and increasing engagement with those who tend to do less – so we have a more active nation in the future, irrespective of their background, age or ability.

 Craig Bennett

Craig is the CEO of Friends of the Earth, an environmental organisation dedicated to the wellbeing and protection of the natural world. During Craig's tenure, he has empowered communities to take action where they live to protect the planet and use that momentum to tackle the climate and ecological crisis.  Sport and recreation is widely renowed for improving the wellbeing of participants, volunteers and spectators and Craig's talk will question whether it also has a role to play in protecting the wellbeing of the natural world.

 Richard Flint

Richard is the Participation & Club Support Director at England Golf, managing a network of national and partnership managers and 20 club support officers. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Greenkeepers Training Committee, the Council of National Golf Unions and Rounders England. The successful amateur golfer will share England Golf’s Greener Club Guide, the slow burn it takes to get clubs on board and how selling the benefits is key.

 Mark Fosh

Mark is Divisional Director of Employee Benefits and Wellbeing at Howden and has 20 years' experience of helping clients attract and retain the right talent. He and his team develop benefits programmes to suit their clients' needs, helping clients to bring their employment strategies to life. A key part of the success of any organisation is the people: staff, volunteers and participants - and this is no different in the sport and recreation world. Mark's talk will provide you with fresh insight into how best to take care of your people, now and for the future.

 Phil Horton

Phil is the Environment and Sustainability Manager at the Royal Yachting Association. RYA is making sustainability a key strategic objective and Phil will share why it is so important, the process they’re going through to embed and measure this and how they are taking global issues across the sport into consideration. 

 Richard Speak

Richard is a Chartered Accountant and trained in law, specialising in corporate finance, equity and debt fundraising. He has turned his focus to Social Investment and was instrumental in setting up the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Trust group of social enterprises and charities and is now a leading impact investment specialist working in Social Finance. Richard’s interactive session will explore how your organisation can become more resilient through sustainable revenue generation, helping reduce your reliance on being completely grant dependent.

 Pete Maguire

Pete is an experienced business consultant with nearly 20 years’ experience advising businesses and sport sector VCSEs. Pete supports community organisations across a range of issues from initial feasibility and asset transfer through to large scale social investment readiness; and work with national bodies, supporting the development and delivery of their facilities and investment strategies. Pete will be joining Richard Speak for a talk on innovative investment in sport and recreation.

Sally Munday

Sally has spent her entire career working in sport and was appointed as the new CEO of UK Sport in May 2019, having held the same position at England and GB Hockey for the previous 10 years. During her time in hockey, Sally oversaw a golden era for the sport, with highlights including the Team GB women securing their first ever Olympic title at the Rio 2016 Games, the men’s team finishing in fourth place at London 2012, the successful hosting of the Women’s Hockey World Cup in London in 2018 and a huge increase in participation in the sport since London 2012. 

Tim Hollingsworth

Tim was appointed Sport England CEO in 2018 after nearly eight years as CEO of the British Paralympic Association (BPA). He led the organisation into four Paralympic Games – including ParalympicGB’s best-ever Summer and Winter Games performances at Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 – and was at the forefront of efforts to increase the profile and interest of the Paralympic movement. Prior to his time at BPA, Hollingsworth spent more than six years at high performance agency UK Sport – the last of which as chief operating officer.

Lisa Wainwright

Lisa became Chief Executive of the Sport and Recreation Alliance in May 2019. She has held a number of senior roles at Sport England initiating the work on the safeguarding standards, clubmark and volunteering before moving to become CEO at Volleyball England in 2008 and then British Basketball in 2016. Internationally she has held roles on the International Volleyball Federation World Ethics Panel, European Volleyball Credentials Panel as well as being a Director of the British Olympic Association. She is currently a Technical Director for International Volleyball and is a member of the International Basketball Federation Governance Commission.